[March 19, 2002] Minority professionals can now go online
and receive a combination of career, economic and lifestyle
information from one Web site.
Last week, the Minority Professional Network (MPN) officially
launched
www.MinorityProfessionalNetwork.com - a Web site that provides
African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and other minorities with the
first national online "Career, Economic and Lifestyle Connection."
Site visitors will have access to the following channels: career
center, employer network, entrepreneurship, professional
organizations, wealth accumulations, minority business listings,
student resources and a book channel.
The site also features 14 metro pages that include event postings,
local news and business profiles for the following cities with diverse
professional populations: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit,
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington/Baltimore.
They may expand to include additional markets.
For those who are seeking to publicize an upcoming event, the site
offers free event postings for professional organizations, churches,
and small businesses as well as options to pay for enhanced listings.
MPN was founded by MPN President CJ Bland and Vice-President of
Marketing Thomas Brooks of Georgia. Bland and Brooks are
effective coalition builders with a total of 30 years of experience in
sales, marketing, consulting, information technology (IT),
entrepreneurship and organizational leadership.
"We aim to be the premier online resource for minority
professionals," Brooks told the
Tribune.
"We think it will be a great way to network. We think it's
important to bring the different minorities together."
Their user community helps keep MPN supplied with fresh content.
MPN is the result of the consolidation of the information from two
weekly electronic newsletters. JOB InfoConnection and ATL
InfoConnection launched in 1998 by MPN President CJ Bland, which
focused on networking events, activities involving minority
professional organizations, and job listings.
Brooks stated that they decided to launch the site because they
wanted to target a larger number of people. He noted that the
site appeals to employers because it efficiently links them with
minority professionals.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Hispanics,
African-Americans, Asians and other minority groups are projected to
comprise an increased share of the labor force by 2008.
"Selection of superior talent is more important than ever," Regina
Lynch-Hudson, president of The Write Publicist & Co. commented in a
release. "The MPN Employer Network is a viable conduit that connects
corporations with the wealth of talent in the nation's minority
workforce."
According to Brooks, over 10,000 newsletter subscribers are already
in the MPN national user community. Professionals who visit the
site can also subscribe to the free e-Newsletters.
"MPN is a colorful and insightful Internet resource for
professionals seeking new job opportunities, networking opportunities,
and innovative ways to build their financial portfolio," noted Denise
Hendricks, executive producer at NBC affiliate 11 Alive WXIA-TV.